Blue Blazer Cocktail (Recipe)

A smoky cocktail, courtesy of the Stockade Tavern in Kingston

Published: 03/10/2014

Photograph by Michael Polito

“This is a drink that is open to interpretation,” says Josh Rosenmeier, the head bartender at Stockade Tavern. “You do need a higher proof spirit to be able to ignite it on fire. The drink in itself is a show. When people ask for it, we turn the lights down. There’s a flame that trails in between both cups, so it’s very exciting to watch.”

3 oz. Aberlour (a cask-strength scotch: it comes straight out of the barrel with no dilution. It’s anywhere from around 110 to 130 proof)

2 oz. warm water

Lemon peel

1 demerara sugar cube (sugar in the raw, purest form unrefined sugar)

2 metal mugs

Combine all ingredients into one mug. Light on fire

Pass back and forth between mugs (the motion of passing between mugs allows you to heat the drink manually; this technique is very old-school, written in one of the first bar manuals by Jerry Thomas back in the 1800s)